This invention relates to methods and apparatus for opening closed containers, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for opening containers (such as cigarette packages) which contain relatively fragile contents. The invention also relates to methods and apparatus for emptying such containers once they have been opened.
Cigarette manufacturers frequently have a need to open large numbers of cigarette packages. For example, it may be necessary to open cigarette packages as part of a quality control process, or to make cigarettes available for smoking tests or other tests of the cigarettes. It may also be necessary to open packages found to be defective in order to recover the cigarettes for repackaging.
Heretofore, cigarette packages have been opened by hand. This is a tedious and time-consuming task which results in many damaged and unusable cigarettes.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of this invention to provide methods and apparatus for automating the opening of closed containers such as cigarette packages.
It is a further object of this invention to provide methods and apparatus for automating the opening and emptying of closed containers such as cigarette packages.